New PA. State Law Opens Up State Universities to Fracking

This is not just a proposed bill, it is now law. The State Game Lands and State Forests are already full of fracking. The State Parks Director was fired last week, apparently because he opposed fracking and mining within State Parks. Next, are our State University campuses.

Excerpt:

"Last year, when Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett suggested offsetting college tuition fees by leasing parts of state-owned college campuses to natural gas drillers, more than a few Pennsylvanians were left blinking and rubbing their eyes. But it was no idle threat: After quietly moving through the state Senate and House, this week the governor signed into law a bill that opens up 14 of the state’s public universities to fracking, oil drilling, and coal mining on campus...

Environmentalists and educators are concerned that fracking and other resource exploitation on campus could leave students directly exposed to harms like explosions, water contamination, and air pollution. They're also worried oil and gas development would leave campuses ruined for future generations. It doesn't help that Pennsylvania has a lousy regulation record, with a tally of violations that have increased more than fourfold since 2005. According to the PennEnvironment Research and Policy Center, Pennsylvania drilling companies racked up a total of 3,355 violations of environmental law between 2008 and 2011, 2,392 of which posed a direct threat to the environment and safety of communities. Meanwhile, in 2010, the state left 82,602 active wells go uninspected, more than all the active wells in New York and Ohio put together.

"Students need a place to learn and grow, but they're being forced to jeopardize their health to get that education," says Tracy Carluccio, deputy director of Delaware Riverkeeper, a local water quality watchdog. "This has been a big giveaway by the state of Pennsylvania to drilling interests, and it's at the expense of students and the public."

A friend of mine is a lawyer in Oklahoma City. I asked him about the oil derrick on the Capitol grounds. He said it is there so that the State legislators are constantly reminded of who owns them.